Birds Fly South for Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Coming off two consecutive big wins, the Illinois State men's basketball team travels south to take on the field at the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational, opening with the Charlotte 49ers on Thanksgiving.

QUICK HITTERS

• The game is a battle of schools that have won the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) over the last four seasons, as Illinois State won the event last season, and Charlotte taking the title in 2023
• Thursday's game is Illinois State's first-ever game on Thanksgiving Day
• ISU freshman Ty'Reek Coleman is on a pace with his field goal shooting numbers that only a small handful of freshman in NCAA history have accomplished
• Illinois State's 52-point win over Coastal Carolina on November 23 is the 11th-largest margin of victory in the NCAA this season by a NCAA Division I school against a NCAA Division I school
• Chase Walker's 13 free throws on the road at Long Beach State are tied for the eighth-most free throws in a game in the NCAA this season (as of games played on November 17)
• ISU held Coastal Carolina to just 42 points in their win on November 23, tied for the fifth-fewest points allowed to a NCAA Division I team this season
• With his 87 points through the first five games of the season, Ty'Reek Coleman has the third-most points through six games by a freshman in program history
• Redbird freshman Ty'Reek Coleman was named the MVC's opening Freshman of the Week after his performances against Ohio and Cornell
• Johnny Kinziger's career free throw percentage of .863 is the 18th-highest active career free throw percentage in NCAA Division I, and 48th-highest among all NCAA divisions
• This season the Redbirds have had 11 runs of eight or more points, including a season-high 21 on November 20 against Rockford
• Coleman's home-opening performance of 24 points were tied for the eighth-most points by a freshman in the NCAA this season (at the time), and his total is tied for the 22nd-most in a game by a freshman in NCAA Division I this season
• ISU's Kinziger has the seventh-highest field goal percentage in the country who have played at least 29 minutes per game, and are under 6-0
• Illinois State's 341 three-point field goals last season were a new Illinois State single-season record, breaking the previous record of 301 set during the 2017-18 season
• The Redbirds are coming off a post-season tournament championship at the Purple CBI hosted in Daytona Beach, Florida
• Illinois State is one of just 15 schools in Division I since 2023-24 to not have had a non-traditional jersey number (jerseys with numbers 6, 7, 8, or 9)
• The Redbirds return 1,786 points from last season, which is the fifth-highest returning total in the NCAA
 

EARLY PERCENTAGES

This season, Ty'Reek Coleman is of to a fast start, as he is averaging 14.5 points per game while making 58 percent of his shots from the field, 44 percent from long range, and just over 80 percent from the free throw line. Since 1980-81, there have been just six freshmen to have a scoring average of 14.5, and shooting percentages of .500 (FG), .400 (3FG), and .800 (FT) while playing at least 25 minutes per game.

BIG MARGINS

In Sunday's 94-42 win over Coastal Carolina, the 52-point margin of victory is tied for the 11th-largest in NCAA Division I this season against a NCAA Division I opponent. Only Gonzaga (72 vs Southern Utah), Georgia (64 vs Md. Eastern Shore), UConn (64 vs UMass-Lowell), Louisville (59 vs South Carolina State), Illinois (58 vs Jackson State), Duke (58 vs Niagara), Miami (56 vs Delaware State), Duke (55 vs Army), Gonzaga (55 vs Texas Southern), and Arkansas (54 vs Jackson State) have a highest total against a Division I school.

DEFENDING THE PERIMETER

Through six games of the season, the Redbirds have held their half-dozen opponents to a combined three-point field goal percentage of just .234, which is the sixth-lowest total in the country this season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Not only was Illinois State's win over Coastal Carolina one of the top scoring margin totals in the NCAA this season, but by holding the Chanticleers to 42 points, it is tied for the fifth-fewest points allowed against a Division I school in the country this season.

OFF TO A FAST START

Through six games, Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman has scored 87 points. Since the 1972-73 season, when the NCAA started allowing freshman to compete again, only two freshman players in program history - Billy Lewis and Tarise Bryson - had scored more points through their first five games with the program.

Through seven games, the freshman record is 129, as Tarise Bryson opened his Redbird career with a scoring average of 18.4 with Billy Lewis close behind (16.1).

WALK (to) THE LINE

In Illinois State's win over Long Beach State, Chase Walker converted on 13-of-14 free throws, which not only is tied for the 16th-most in a game in program history, it is the 10th-most in NCAA Division I during the 2025-26 season (as of games played on Nov. 23).

CLIMBING NCAA CAREER LISTS

Over his two-plus seasons as a Redbird, ISU junior Johnny Kinziger has a career free throw percentage of .864, which is the 17th-highest active career free throw percentage in NCAA Division I and 45th overall in NCAA basketball. (minimum of 110 free throw makes). Boden Skunberg ranks 78th among active players in career points, while his 119 games played puts him 30th on the list.

BIG SMALL PERCENTAGE

This season Johnny Kinziger has made nearly half of his 53 field goal attempts, and he is one of seven players in the NCAA this season to be shooting .475 or better in 29 or more minutes played per game, all while being under 6-0 tall.

BIG HOME OPENER FOR THE ROOK

In his second game in a Redbird uniform, and the first at home, freshman Ty'Reek Coleman shined, scoring 24 points, which is the 21st-most by a freshman in program history, the second-highest in a home debut by a freshman, and he is one of just 19 freshmen in the NCAA Division I to have had a game scoring total of 24.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING

Through six games this season, Illinois State has had 11 scoring runs of at least eight consecutive points, with the longest-such mark being the 21-0 first-half run against the Rockford Regents.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Using his strong second game, Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman was named the MVC Freshman of the Week, just the third Redbird to earn this honor, joining teammates Johnny Kinziger (Jan. 29, 2024 and Feb. 26, 2024) and Jack Daugherty (Dec. 23, 2025).

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Returning three of its top four scorers from last season, including two All-Missouri Valley Conference selections, the 2025-26 Illinois State men's basketball team — and players on the team — have high expectations put on it from numerous preseason prognostications. Mid-Major Madness, Lindy's Basketball Magazine, Blue Ribbon Basketball Magazine, and the MVC media poll have the Redbirds picked to win the MVC in 2025-26. Mid-Major Madness, Lindy's Basketball Magazine, and Blue Ribbon all have returning forward Chase Walker named as the Preseason Player of the Year, while Johnny Kinziger was named to the Preseason First Team by Blue Ribbon Basketball Magazine and Lindy's Basketball Magazine. The Field of 68 ranked Illinois State as the #3 Mid-Major Team in the country in their preseason poll, while also naming Walker the Mid-Major Preseason Player of the Year.

RETURNING SCORING

The Redbirds return players that combined to score 1,786 points from last season — 65.49 percent of the team's scoring — which is the fifth-highest total in the NCAA returning, and the team's returning scoring percentage is 10th-best heading into the 2025-26 season.

STAYING TRADITIONAL

Starting in the 2023-24 season, the NCAA started allowing student-athletes to wear non-traditional jersey numbers, outside of the typical 0-5 numbers. In the three seasons' worth of rosters since the adjustment, there have been just 15 schools to not have a "new number" on its rosters. Joining Illinois State on that list include Alabama State, Army West Point, Bethune-Cookman, Binghamton, Central Michigan, Delaware, ETSU, HOly Cross, Lehigh, Mississippi Valley, UMES, Vermont, Western Illinois, and Wright State.